31 December 2009

I can sit and bore you with paragraph upon paragraph of what's gone down through the year, but let me try and summarize it in one line:

Tons of traveling, HalaBahrain got crazy popular, New Tahoe and pimped it out, launched a whole company and ran it (UrFilez Bahrain), riding a camel infront of the Pyramids, villa on the water at the Maldives, put together a bunch of large shows, brought musicians in Bahrain to popularity, launched an album for DJ Outlaw, and a ton more stuff that I can't even remember any more...

2010 is gonna be crazier.. Keep watching this space; HalaBahrain is up for a huge re-make, BahrainTalent is going to be completely re-done and pushed out, get ready for ammaro Productions (audio & video), and get ready for Arabia Underground... That's just the beginning...

(On a separate thought, imagine if you wake up tomorrow and it's the first of January 2011? Where did 2010 go? Imagine losing a whole year. Whoa, trippy. Ok ignore me i'm being silly).

11 December 2009

Wow, it seems like logo fever is taking over the country! So after last week's new BTV logo (which we came to the conclusion represented nothing, really), Batelco have come to the scene with their own brand new identity!

Come to think of it, didn't Batelco change their logo just a few years back, when Zain (back then MTC Vodafone) came onto the scene? So why are they changing it again? Here are some quotes from Batelco Chief Executive:

Combining the English "B" with its Arabic equivalent, the aim is to make the company identifiable with all cultures

Aha, all cultures? I don't see the Indian and Chinese culture in there. And in fact, I don't even see Arabic culture; sure there's an Arabic letter ب in there somewhere but mixing it in with the B makes it look like this:

Don't see it? Okay look closer:

Hmm. New spelling needed then, Batelcow? No seriously, what's up with all the logo changes? Changing a logo doesn't mean your company moves up in the World. Batelco's service isn't necessarily bad, it's not great though, and it's the internal issues that need to be fixed, not the external view of the company. Anyway, here are the older logos:

2003:

Prior to 2003:

Funnily enough, the oldest one still seems the most relevant to a telecom. Hmm. Anyway, this means we've had 3 logos over the span of less than a decade. What we should be doing is look at the big global companies around the world and follow their examples! So, have those big companies been changing their logos as often? Let's see some examples:

Coca Cola:

1885:

2009:

Hmm. So essentially Coca-Cola has had the same logo for over 100 years, only changing the font a teeny tiny bit to make it look fresh and more modern. Hmm. Doesn't look like we're following that example. Let's look at another:

5 December 2009

I've got a pretty good idea on viewership statistics for Bahrain TV; they're probably around 7 people (4 of who are the channel operators and producers who have to check the channel for errors etc).

I don't know why the station is still alive really; it was considered pretty advanced back in the 80's, in comparison to the other countries in the region (ie, Kuwait, UAE, etc)... Yup, and it managed to stay in the 80's and on the same level, while all the countries around us moved forward. Not good.

Now we've got advanced programming from Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi, MBC, etc etc, but Bahrain TV is still... Well comic to say the least. Whether the quality of the TV shows (which look like they've been filmed with a mobile phone camera), to the bad scripts and fake acting, or the website that's been "under construction" for the past two years.

Anyway; so a few days ago I heard that BTV decided to change their logo. Yup, their logo! How about you guys change your frickin' employees who have been running the station for the past 40 years? As if changing the logo is going to push up views - Random scenario: Hey Ahmed, can you change the channel to BTV? I heard they have a new logo, let's sit and watch that for a few hours.

Emm... No.

But seriously, Ministry of Info (the guys who run Bahrain TV and Radio), get your act together! We're supposed to be displaying world-class productions through our various media; TV is one obvious portal to the world. I can cite specific examples of why our TV channel is so bad, but I would rather not spread that sort of embarrassment to our country online.

Maybe you (Bahrain) should make me the next head of TV & Radio. No seriously, come on, i'll turn this whole thing around. But anyway, for your enjoyment, the old and new logos:

Old:

Nice and simple, obvious and to the point. Nice portrayal of red and white symbolizing the colors of our flag, with the B looking like some sort of butterfly or whatever, possibly symbolizing how we've let the opportunity of creating a top-notch TV channel fly away :?

New:

No idea in the hell what this is. Sources claim this is supposed to be some sort of calligraphy saying "Bahrain" in Arabic but i've been staring at the thing for the past 20 minutes and I still can't see where half the Arabic letters are. It looks more like a hurricane symbolizing the total destruction we've managed to let the Ministry of Information do to our media channels.

Way to go BTV. Love the new logo. I'm soooo gonna keep the channel on all the time just so I can catch this beautiful graphical piece of art wherever I go.

2 December 2009

To the country thats built miracles out of the emptiness of the desert, thats caught the eyes of the world, the country that has achieved what they said was impossible, a country that makes us proud to stand up & say I'M ARAB. Happy National Day UAE!

Just a few short words to mark the 38th national day of the United Arab Emirates. Given I've lived a good 5 years there, went to college, took my first job, setting up an office there now, and much more.. It's still one amazing place.

Whether its the astounding world class developments of Dubai, or the serenity of a walk across the Buhairah in Sharjah, the magnificent achievements of Abu Dhabi, or any of the other states. You are truly an inspiration.

Some may try to stain the name, especially with the financial problems of last week; but again, that is the state of the whole world. Sooner rather than later will the UAE be back and bringing glory once again to its people and to all Arabs.